Judge dismisses Trump officials' lawsuit over Chicago sanctuary policies
The lawsuit, filed in February, alleged that so-called sanctuary laws in the nation's third-largest city 'thwart' federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.
It argued that local laws run counter to federal laws by restricting 'local governments from sharing immigration information with federal law enforcement officials' and preventing immigration agents from identifying 'individuals who may be subject to removal.'
Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the northern district of Illinois granted the defendants' motion for dismissal.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson said he was pleased with the decision and the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans.
'This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago's welcoming city ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The city cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump administration's reckless and inhumane immigration agenda,' he said in a statement.
Governor JB Pritzker welcomed the ruling, saying in a social media post: 'Illinois just beat the Trump administration in federal court.'
The justice department and the Department of Homeland Security and did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The administration has filed a series of lawsuits targeting state or city policies seen as interfering with immigration enforcement, including those in Los Angeles, New York City, Denver and Rochester, New York. It sued four New Jersey cities in May.
Heavily Democratic Chicago has been a sanctuary city for decades and has beefed up its laws several times, including during Trump's first term in 2017.
That same year, then governor Bruce Rauner, a Republican, signed more statewide sanctuary protections into law, putting him at odds with his party.
There is no official definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities. The terms generally describe limits on local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ice enforces US immigration laws nationwide but sometimes seeks state and local help.
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Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Asylum seekers 'move into' four-star Canary Wharf hotel under cover of darkness despite anti-migrant protests
People believed to be asylum seekers appear to have moved into a glitzy four-star hotel in London under the cover of darkness. A coach full of suspected migrants was seen arriving at the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf at around 1.40am on Saturday morning. Tower Hamlets Council confirmed the Government intends to use the hotel - which has around 500 rooms - for asylum seekers in a move that has angered anti-migrant protesters and guests whose bookings have been cancelled. Footage of the passengers getting off the coach showed they were all men, with the vast majority dressed in matching grey tracksuit tops and bottoms. They were helped by masked security guards, some of whom appeared to be wearing body cameras. Last week, workers were seen hauling beds and mattresses into the hotel in preparation for the arrival of 'hundreds' of asylum seekers. A barricade of metal fencing was placed around the hotel by the Metropolitan Police after anti-migrant demonstrators protested the plan for immigrants to be housed there. Met Police officers were called to the Britannia International Hotel last week amid warnings the 'discontent is real' in Britain. Footage on social media shows eggs were thrown, while a police helicopter was circling above as officers on the ground blocked the entrance to the hotel which has more than 500 rooms and is located on the waterfront of the South Dock. The Canary Wharf protest did not reach the violence seen in Epping, with YouTuber-types making up a large proportion of the crowd in preparation for any tension. However, there were still dozens of protesters - some wearing masks and others draped in St George's flags. One placard said: 'This is a peaceful protest to protect our own.' Counter-protesters also gathered outside the scene - and in one clip appeared to be escorted away from the hotel by police as protesters followed behind. Furious hotel guests have left damning reviews online, claiming they were told their stays were 'cancelled'. One wrote: 'My confirmed reservation was cancelled less than 24 hours before my stay via a brief phone call, citing a 'private hire' event.' Another said: 'Completely unprofessional company. Hotel cancelled my booking at last minute because they had a bulk booking.' And a third fumed: 'Booked in for three nights on 18th July. Told we couldn't stay on Sunday night no explanation but waiter said they were closing. Left to go to other hotel 1 hr away on Sunday. Waste of a day.' While guests claimed they were not given a reason for the cancellations, a spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council confirmed: 'We are aware of the Government's decision to use the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. 'It is important that the Government ensures that there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel. 'We are working with the Home Office and partners to make sure that all necessary safety and safeguarding arrangements are in place.' Local residents group chief Maxi Gorynski is an IT worker renting a high-rise flat in Canary Wharf. He made clear he wanted to distinguish himself and fellow residents from far-right demonstrators, saying they were 'notably distinct'. However, he told the Financial Times he was concerned the suspected asylum seekers could bring 'bag theft and gig economy fraud, all the way up to robbery, arson, sexual assault, rape, even murder' to their area. Felicity J Lord estate agent John Costea also told the FT that clients from the UK and abroad had asked 'many questions' about what is going on, such as 'how is it going to reflect their property value'. The Daily Mail has contacted the Home Office for comment. Protests have broken out across the country this summer, with more than 150 gathering outside The Park Hotel, in Diss, Norfolk last week after the Home Office announced plans to change it from housing asylum-seeker families to single men. Trouble first broke out in Epping two weeks ago after Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the town by attempting to kiss her. He denies the charges. The protest started peacefully, but descended into frenzied violence when anti-migrant demonstrators clashed with counter protesters and police. Essex Police has faced major questions after footage emerged of officers escorting pro-migrant activists to the hotel - despite the force initially denying this has happened. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted footage allegedly showing pro-migrant protesters being 'bussed' to the demonstration in police vans but Essex Police said this was 'categorically' untrue. However, after footage emerged of cops leading pro-migrant activists to the hotel by foot, Essex police admitted its officers had escorted the protesters. Farage had called for Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington to quit, saying it was 'absolutely disgraceful' and 'heads must roll'. But Chief Constable Harrington rejected claims his officers had given a higher level of protection to pro-migrant protesters. 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The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Europe's trade deal with the US was dead on arrival – it needs to be buried. Here's how to do it
Ursula von der Leyen's Turnberry golf course deal has been rightly called a capitulation and a humiliation for Europe. Assuming such an accord would put an end to Donald Trump's coercion and bullying was either naive or the result of a miserable delusion. The EU should now steel itself and reject the terms imposed by Trump. Is this deal really as bad as it sounds? Unfortunately, it is, for at least three reasons. The blow to Europe's international credibility is incalculable in a world that expects the EU to stand up for reciprocity and rules-based trade, to resist Washington's coercion as Canada, China and Brazil have, rather than condoning it. Economically, it's a damaging one-way street: EU exporters lose market access in the US while the EU market is hit by more favoured US competition. Core European industrial sectors such as pharma and steel and aluminium are left by the wayside. The balance also tilts in the US's favour in important sectors such as consumer goods, food and drink, and agriculture. Tariffs tend to stick, so this is long-term damage. The EU even gives up its right to respond to future US pressures through duties on digital services or network fees. To top it off, von der Leyen's defence and investment pledges (for which she had no mandate) go against Europe's interest. The EU's competitiveness predicament is precisely one of net investment outflows. As international capital now reallocates under the pressures of Trumponomics and a weakening dollar, the case for Europe to become a strategic investment power was strengthening. Von der Leyen's promise of $600bn in EU investment in the US is therefore disastrous messaging. How could this happen? All EU member states wanted to avoid Trump's 30% tariff threat and a trade war, but none perhaps as much as Germany and Ireland, supported by German carmakers and US big tech firms. Yet Irish sweetheart digital tax deals, as well as BMW and Mercedes's plans to move production hubs to the US (also to serve the EU market), cannot be Europe's future. EU governments were distinctly unhelpful in building the EU's negotiating position. But in the end, it was von der Leyen who blinked and she has to take responsibility. Her close team took control in the closing weeks and went into the final meeting manifestly prepared only to say yes, which made Trump's steamrolling inevitable. Let's think of the counterfactual: if von der Leyen had stepped into the room and rejected these terms, Trump's wrath and some market turmoil may have ensued. But ultimately it would very likely have come to a postponement, a new negotiation and, at some point, a different deal that would not be so lopsided or unilaterally trade away deep and long-term European interests and principles. Instead, von der Leyen became a supplicant to a triumphant Trump. The situation is reminiscent of the final rounds of the Brexit negotiations five years ago when von der Leyen similarly was giving in to unacceptable demands from Boris Johnson, only to U-turn under pressure from a steelier EU chief negotiator and a quartet of member states. Today, von der Leyen runs Brussels with a strong presidential hand and has largely done away with internal checks and balances inside the commission. That is her prerogative and her style, but the upshot should not be weak, ineffective and unprincipled dealings on Europe's major geopolitical challenges, from Trump to Gaza. The 'deal' in Scotland is in reality an unstable interim accord. Nothing is yet inked or signed; Washington and Brussels are already locking horns on its interpretation and negotiations on the finer (and broader) points are ongoing. The 27 EU governments will inevitably get involved as the final deal needs to be translated into an international agreement and EU law. Some big powers – Germany and Italy seemingly – are on board, reluctant or not. However, internal political dynamics may change their calculations. Opposition parties and rightwing contenders who are a real political threat to leaders in Germany and France are already lambasting the deal. Unless von der Leyen strikes a dirty bargain with the member states, the European parliament will also have a say. The longtime chair of its trade committee, Bernd Lange, has set the tone for how the deal would be viewed there, calling it 'asymmetry set in stone' and even 'a misery'. As details seep out on what von der Leyen has really agreed to and what the US expects from the EU, and all the consequences become clear, an already unpalatable deal may become even more so. Weakening US economic data and returning stock market jitters show that Trump's negotiation footing is fragile. His new tariff threats come with new extensions, up to 90 days in the case of Mexico, as his position is overstretched. For Europe, the lesson from the Brexit negotiations – one that von der Leyen ought to have grasped before now – is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. There is now an opportunity for EU governments and the European parliament to course correct and salvage something from this train wreck. Georg Riekeles is the associate director of the European Policy Centre, and Varg Folkman is policy analyst at the European Policy Centre
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
India will buy Russian oil despite Trump's threats, NYT reports
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Indian officials have said they would keep purchasing oil from Russia despite the threat of penalties that U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
